Neutron intrinsic gettering on electrical property of gate oxynitride in metal-oxide-Si capacitor

The electrical property of gate oxynitride in metal-oxide-Si capacitor is i mproved by a neutron-intrinsic-gettering (NIG) treatment. This improvement can be attributed to the reduction of nitrogen concentration in the oxynitr ide bulk and the decrease of interstitial oxygen defect in the silicon. For the oxynitride formed using NIG-treated Si substrate, the breakdown electr ic field is increased and the reliability is improved. A significant improv ement of electrical property in gate oxynitride is observed by a NIG treatm ent including a fast neutron dose of 7.2x10(16) cm(-2) and an anneal at 110 0 degrees C for 6 h. This NIG treatment would be promising for the improvem ent of electrical properties in gate oxynitrides. (C) 2000 American Institu te of Physics. [S0003- 6951(00)00819-6].